Surprising Benefits of the Forbidden Rice: Black Rice

White rice is gaining a pretty bad reputation in the last few years, because of the presence of simple carbohydrates which raises the blood sugar and leads to obesity.

In many houses, white rice is being replaced by brown rice for its nutritional benefits and the health advantage it adds to people suffering from diabetes.

However, another variety of rice which is putting behind all other variants is Black Rice. It is termed as one of the most nutritional superstars.

According to the Chinese legend, Black Rice was one amongst the few selected foods which were only consumed by the emperor and his family. This particular variety of rice was coined as “The Forbidden Rice” because it was solely reserved for the emperor and his family and was not supposed to be consumed by any other person. Anyone who was seen consuming this rare rice was faced with danger.

This particular variant of rice has a very low number of calories, low in cholesterol, fewer carbohydrates and a beneficial amount of fibre. As compared to white rice, black rice will save you by 20 calories and about 20 grams of carbohydrate per serving. Hence, this is beneficial for weight watchers and people looking for ways to cut down on sugar levels.

It has a sweet, slightly nutty flavour and turns into an alluring purple colour when cooked.

Below are some of the benefits this rice can add to your health:

Rich in Antioxidants: Compared to all other varieties of rice, black rice was found out to bear an antioxidant content about 6 times higher than that of brown rice or white rice. It even outranks the antioxidant content when compared to one of the richest sources of antioxidants – blueberries. The presence of anthocyanins in rice gives it an alluring purple colour along with ample health benefits. It is also a rich source of fibre, vitamin E and contains less sugar than blueberries.

Fights Inflammation: After conducting several tests and research, this rice has shown to combat certain inflammatory disorders. The bran of both, black rice and brown rice was taken to suppress against skin inflammation. The results indicated that brown rice bran did not show any ability to fight inflammation whereas the bran of black rice did.

Helps Lose Weight: As compared to white rice, this rice has fewer calories and less number of carbohydrates which contributes greatly to shed pounds of weight. It is also a good source of fibre which adds another feather in the cap, thus managing your weight by preventing binge eating and reducing your unnecessary hunger pangs.

Improves Heart Health: Because black rice has complex carbohydrates rather than simple carbohydrates, it can help in promoting the health of the heart. It also prevents a plague of arteries, thus keeping you away from the risk of heart failures and strokes. Plagued arteries are the biggest threat to the heart health. When plague builds up in the walls of arteries, the arteries become hard and this prevents the blood flow, thus causing a risk to the heart. Due to the presence of anthocyanins, it reduces the risk of atherosclerosis and can absorb cholesterol.

Reduces the risk of Diabetes: Being a rich source of fibre, it aids in lowering the sugar level prevents sugar spikes and keeps blood sugar under control. It also helps in regulating the insulin level, thus keeping diabetes at bay. It has comparatively low carbohydrates than white rice and hence there is an equal balance of sugar in the blood.

Helps prevent Cancer: The presence of antioxidants like anthocyanins which help combat the free radicals from causing cellular damage. Studies have proven that black rice has the potential and ability to fight free radicals and reduce the growth of tumour metastasis in breast cancer cells. The extract of this rice can cause cancer cell death and keep you away from the dangers of certain types of cancers.

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